Students involved with Arcadia Exhibitions gathered in the Judith Taylor Gallery in Landman Library for the opening reception of “Artifacts of Life and Death: Examining Domestic and Funerary Ceramics from West Africa” on April 29. This student-generated exhibition highlights pieces of pottery from the Bura, Chamba, Dakakari, and Nupe cultures of West Africa, which were donated to Arcadia University by David and Karina Rilling in 2008.

Catherine Portelli ’25, a Studio Art major with a concentration in Photography, worked on the Arcadia Exhibitions marketing team this semester, creating plans for the promotion of the event and social media content leading up to and throughout the exhibition.

“It was really interesting to see the marketing side of the gallery world, and what goes into the planning and promotion of events like this,” she explained.

Running through September 29, the exhibit is designed to educate viewers on the funerary and domestic rituals of these West African societies and inspire discourse around the ethics of collecting and preserving the cultural heritage of marginalized groups.

“This opening was our final big event of the semester,” added Portelli. “So we’ll be continuing to promote this while it’s up and then doing something as a thank you when the exhibit closes.”
To learn more about this exhibit and plans for future events, click here or follow @arcadiaexhibitions on social media.

Judith Taylor was a professor and program coordinator of Photography in Arcadia’s Department of Art and Design, teaching at Arcadia from 1995 to 2007. In 1975, she earned a BA in Fine Art with a focus on photography and film from Pennsylvania State University. She then earned an MFA in Photography in 1978 from the Rhode Island School of Design. In 2008 Taylor was awarded the Arcadia University Frank and Evelyn Steinbrucker Endowed Chair for Research in Alternative and Non-Silver Photographic Processes.

Her photographs can be found at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Bryn Mawr College, Lehigh University, Allentown Art Museum, the State Museum of Pennsylvania, Rutgers University Collection of Art, the Museum of the Rhode Island School of Design, the Pennsylvania State University, Rowan University, Johnson & Jonson, and Price/Water.

Following her passing in 2010, Arcadia University dedicated the student gallery space in Landman Library to Taylor to commemorate her and all of her contributions to the community. To this day, students use this space for various student-run exhibitions.